Lawmaker's business boosted by aide's public campaign funds

Senator Martin Golden asks a question Monday, Jan. 13, 2014, during a hearing held by the Senate Standing Committee on Health and the Senate Standing Committee on Insurance entitled New York State of Health: A Discussion on Implementation. The hearing was held at the Legislative Office Building in Albany (Paul Buckowski / Times Union) less

Senator Martin Golden asks a question Monday, Jan. 13, 2014, during a hearing held by the Senate Standing Committee on Health and the Senate Standing Committee on Insurance entitled New York State of Health: A ... more

Photo: Paul Buckowski

Photo: Paul Buckowski

Image
1of/5

Caption

Close

Image 1 of 5

Senator Martin Golden asks a question Monday, Jan. 13, 2014, during a hearing held by the Senate Standing Committee on Health and the Senate Standing Committee on Insurance entitled New York State of Health: A Discussion on Implementation. The hearing was held at the Legislative Office Building in Albany (Paul Buckowski / Times Union) less

Senator Martin Golden asks a question Monday, Jan. 13, 2014, during a hearing held by the Senate Standing Committee on Health and the Senate Standing Committee on Insurance entitled New York State of Health: A ... more

Photo: Paul Buckowski

Lawmaker's business boosted by aide's public campaign funds

1 / 5

Back to Gallery

ALBANY — A publicly funded campaign for New York City Council, launched by a longtime staffer for Brooklyn state Sen. Marty Golden, spent $13,000 on a business in which Golden has a substantial financial interest.

The longtime top staffer, John Quaglione, received more than $200,000 in taxpayer dollars from New York City's generous campaign matching funds system. In a campaign for an open southern Brooklyn seat, the Republican lost his race in November to Democrat Justin Brannan.

Golden is the former owner of Bay Ridge Manor, a catering hall in southern Brooklyn. Golden sold the business to his brother after he was elected to the Senate in 2002, but remains the landlord and continues to collect a management fee.

Golden's 2016 financial disclosure form shows that he earned between $145,000 and $270,000 in income connected to Bay Ridge Manor, including at least $100,000 in rental payments.

While Golden has spent huge amounts of his own campaign money on the business, almost none of that has come from publicly funded campaigns. Under the New York City system, small-dollar private donations are matched six-to-one with public dollars.

The Senate Republican conference of which Golden is a part has consistently opposed a statewide campaign finance system, arguing that it's a waste of money.

Campaign finance records show that Quaglione spent about $5,700 on a primary event, $4,000 on a volunteer rally and $3,300 on a fundraiser at Bay Ridge Manor. In an email, John Orlando, Quaglione's campaign manager, explained the choice of venue.

"Local business, local workers, protecting jobs, and not a bar – it was a more suitable venue to appropriately serve larger groups of people," Orlando said.

A total of $797,000 in campaign dollars — mostly from Golden's own account — have gone to Bay Ridge Manor, according to campaign finance records. That includes about $22,000 from Golden's campaign itself so far this year.

Golden already has Democrats vying to take him on in his own 2018 election campaign: journalist Ross Barkan and attorney Andrew Gounardes.